British pressure groups have welcomed a report linking illnesses suffered by Gulf War veterans with exposure to toxins, including nerve gas.

The US Veterans Affairs Department claims stress or mental illness did not explain most veterans' complaints.

British campaigners are demanding the government stop being "bloody-minded" and recognise Gulf War Syndrome.

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) says there is still not enough evidence to prove its existence.

The report, by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, said up to 30% of US Gulf War veterans had been afflicted by a "complex of multiple chronic symptoms over and above expected rates seen in veterans who did not serve in the Gulf War".

It added: "A growing body of research indicates that an important component of Gulf War veterans' illnesses is neurological in character."

What the Americans are saying is that the illness is not stress-related and not in the mind

Elizabeth SigmundGulf Syndrome Study Group

Tony Flint, the regional coordinator for the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association in Britain, said: "We have known for years that Gulf War Syndrome does exist, and why the MoD has been so bloody-minded in not accepting it I do not know."

Elizabeth Sigmund, of the UK's Gulf Syndrome Study Group, praised the work done in the US and called on the MoD to carry out "proper testing".

She said: "What the Americans are saying is that the illness is not stress-related and not in the mind.

"It is actual physical damage caused by the chemicals that troops were exposed to."

The US researchers found veterans had developed Lou Gehrig's disease at about twice the rate of veterans who did not serve in the Gulf War.

The new report indicates a large number of Gulf War troops were exposed to a variety of potentially toxic substances, including low levels of chemical nerve agents, pills taken to protect veterans from the effects of nerve agents and insect repellents and pesticides, that can adversely affect the nervous system.

The Pentagon has previously acknowledged that some troops may have been exposed to the nerve agent sarin when Iraqi munitions were destroyed.

The MoD said it was aware of most of the material in the report.

Personnel received vaccines against biological weapons threats

A spokesman said: "We are confident that our approach - which is supported and guided by the Independent Medical Research Council researching Gulf veterans' illnesses - is well focused and deals appropriately with this sensitive issue.

"The findings and the recommendations are of interest, but we note, however, that the report does not take into account the recent paper by the US Institute of Medicine, which states that there is inadequate and insufficient evidence to
determine whether an association exists between low level exposure to sarin and long term adverse neurological effects."

Labour peer Lord Morris of Manchester, who helped establish the independent British inquiry into Gulf War illnesses under Lord Lloyd, also welcomed the findings.

He said: "This is a major development in unravelling the truth about the lessons of the still medically unexplained Gulf War illnesses.

"The advisory committee is to be congratulated in its frank exposure of the dangers to which the troops were exposed."